Milford developer fined

Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Published Wednesday December 12, 2012 at 6:00 am

The developer of Mountain View Estates, a seven-lot residential subdivision, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pay $24,000 in penalties for violating the Clean Water Act by not controlling stormwater discharge from its construction site.

Albee Realty Trust of Milford and its trustees, Lawrence Hill and Brian McCann, were issued a complaint by the EPA on June 12, which accused the developers of discharging stormwater without a permit for several years. According to a news release, the developers failed to install and maintain controls to minimize discharge of silt-laden stormwater that flowed to the Blackstone River.

The settlement was announced by the EPA yesterday.

Albee Realty Trustís lawyer, John V. Fernandes of Milford, who also serves as state representative for the 10th Worcester District, did not return a call seeking comment yesterday afternoon.

EPA attorney Kathleen E. Woodward said in a phone message that the subdivision development is about 2,000 feet from the river.

The developers were required to apply for either an individual permit or coverage under a general permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities because the development site was larger than one acre.

Rainwater running off construction sites can carry sediments, oil and other pollutants that contaminate nearby waterways. Erosion from a one-acre construction site could discharge as much as 20 to 150 tons of sediment in one year if not properly managed, according to the EPA.

Uxbridge Conservation Commission and Stormwater Committee member Michael R. Potaski said Mountain View Estates is on a fractured hillside off Albee Road and a lot of water runs down through the broken earth.

Besides polluted stormwater and sediment draining into the Blackstone, residents across Albee Road had complained since around 2009 about water flowing off the construction site and onto the road and their properties.